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No, nuclear thermal rockets could be launched from the ground. That was the plan with NERVA, which was a pretty serious attempt to develop the technology in the
by rm445 6y ago
No, nuclear thermal rockets could be launched from the ground. That was the plan with NERVA, which was a pretty serious attempt to develop the technology in the early seventies. A nuclear thermal rocket engine 'looks' like a rocket engine, but there's energy from fission in the combustion chamber.
- nyokodo 6y agoI didn’t know about NERVA, thanks for the correction!
- laverya 6y agoNERVA was targeting thrust to weight ratios of <5, though - which isn't high enough to lift off of the ground with. Makes a fantastic upper stage engine, but a rather useless first one.
- trothamel 6y agoAnd more specfically, it was being a proposed as a replacement for the S-IVB, the third stage of the Saturn V. Early maps (like the one shown at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch11-8.html https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch11-8.ht... ) show the Nuclear Assembly Building, along with three pads, at Launch Complex 39, which launched the Saturn and Space Shuttle, and now launches the Falcon rocket.